And how many thousands of years after men lived in caves and groped in ignorance, did it take for this wonderful gem of enlightenment and all the others to be delivered to man? If you believe in god you have to that he sat up there and watched men grope in darkness,
babies starve to death and all kinds of other horrors before he sent a single message.
No, I do not have to believe that. He has always been here, and always spoken.
Did he give it all people at once so everyone had equal footing and an equal chance?
Everyone had equal footing and an equal chance... but if some turn away from HIM, and take their children with them, then that is their choice. He did not begin to exist with Israel. Or Isaac. Or Abraham. Or Noah. But from the very beginning.
No he played favorites and sanctioned a genocide of 25 million men women and children in palestine because he didn't like the way they did things when he never told them otherwise. Is that a loving thing to do?
'Favorites' might be a loving thing to do... in accordance to those who put faith in you, do as you ask, love you... and so also love those who you love. Over others who perhaps hate you and hate those you love.
Sanctioning genocide of 25 million men, women and children is not a loving thing to do (though I am not sure what genocide you are speaking of here)... and so you know that he did NOT do it. A) because it is not a loving thing to do, and B) because it is not what Christ did... and Christ is the Image and Truth of God. Not the Israelites, not the bible, not any religion before or after Him.
(Also God promised Abraham that Ishmael would also be a great nation.)
Tec - So where did you initially learn about Jesus from? Where do many other people learn about their god from and draw inferences about who he is and what he wants? Is there a talking burning bush somewhere that the majority of mankind missed? oh that's right
there isn't one, just a bible, oral traditions and "experts" to interpret those... and the wheels on the bus go round and round.
I learned about Jesus initially from other people telling me. Then much later in my life, I continued to learn about Him from the gospels (much later as in a handful of years ago). Which themselves point to CHRIST, and not the bible. From learning about Christ, I learned about God... and only from Christ. Most everything i thought I knew before that was wrong, because I was listening to religion and other people, and NOT Christ.
I only know Christ though (as opposed to knowing about him) by going to Him, and listening and hearing him, in spirit. He is alive, and He does speak. Many people do not know (have forgotten) or do not have the faith TO hear Him and follow His voice. But His sheep hear His voice. He is written to have said that they would, and His words have proven true, at least to all those who do hear him.
Now, I don't need to explore about what others teach about Him (except to speak sometimes against the lies they can teach that turn people away from Him).
But I do not have to worry about their teachings... because I can listen to Him, and understand truth from HIM.
Without seculism to temper the religious whackos there woud be very little love and mercy history has already proven that, and just look at the current theocratic regimes in the world and it plainly illustrates what religion is capable of left unchecked.
We're talking apples and oranges here.
God and Christ... are NOT religion. Religion belongs to man. Religion is man trying to make physical and 'without', something that is spiritual and within. Religion is man walking by sight, rather than walking by faith.
Though even if we were speaking solely about religion, religion has done good as well as bad for people. Such as those social programs and charities, etc. If those were suddenly gone, that would be a lot of people left abandoned. There are not enouch secular 'forces' to pick up that slack.
The religious 'whackos' might be the loudest, but they are not often the majority.
Did you read that article last year where a group of muslims stood as a shield around a group of christians during their worship, to protect them from the extremists, or to die with them?
Peace,
tammy
